Prior to the twentieth century it is typically difficult to locate and trace a woman. Property was in the name of men; men ran the majority of the businesses and controlled government; they also wrote histories. The man's surname was carried into the next generation by the children. This article will discuss a wide array of research strategies to capture the story of an elusive female.

Whenever possible, support family stories with the facts. Keep in mind the old adage, "In God we trust, all others must have the facts." Facts denote a primary source on paper. Usually there is a twist to the family story, but we want the whole truth and nothing but the truth will do. Knowing that "she wore wooden shoes" immediately gives us clues and points us in a direction.

Think back to the family tales you have heard. Let's say a remembered phrase is, "her father was a Cohanim or Cohen," meaning of the Jewish priesthood. This indicates the family can trace its origins back 3,000 years to the first high priest or cohen, Aaron, the older brother of Moses. To this day all the Cohanim (one of the origional twelve tribes) are viewed as descendants of Aaron, not just figuratively, but by blood. Many, but not all, have the surname Cohen, Kohen, Cohn, Kohn, Cone, Kone, Cahn, Kahn, or Kahane.

Dr. Karl Skorecki, a researcher in genetics at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa and his colleagues in England and the United States have reported to the journal, Lancet, that men who had been told they were Cohanim shared certain specific Y chromosome genetic traits; thus indicating that they may represent a single lineage back to one male forbearer, perhaps back to Aaron (New York Times, Jan 19, 1997, p. 4).

Begin the time line with her birth and end it with her death. Fill it in with the various events (occasion, time and place) which make up her life. This line will begin to tell a story all her own and stimulate your curiousity. More questions will be raised.

This information should be interwoven and supportive of other family facts. Be sure to have at least three sources which confirm specific information, i.e. birth dates or birth years, and places. Check census and civil vital records on the woman, her husband and her children first. This often provides the most information with the least time outlay.

If you arrive at a stone wall with your earliest ancestor's child, change your focus to the siblings of this person. Collateral lines may hold the key that unlocks the gate to the family origions. When one door closes, God opens another.

Gather civil birth, marriage, and death records, census, Bible records, naturalizations, deeds, obituaries, wills, cemeteries and town/county histories which include information on these relatives. The more information you glean the stronger your foundation of facts; the more sources of family information you can examine, the more likely you will attain your goal. Then only after exhausting all other sources should you cross the ocean to continue the search.

Examine the federal and state census indexes, and then turn to the census for the town of her residence. Copy the full page on which she is listed. Note the date the census was taken, who her neighbors were, and her age. Does the census state her age at her last birthday, or her age at her next birthday? Seek out her children in the census. Age discrepancies between census are common. If she becomes a widow, she will commonly go to live with a daughter and son-in-law, or less frequently she will move in with a son and his wife.

In rare instances a census taker may identify the maiden name of each woman. An Albany, New York 1855 census taker, William D Mahony, enhanced his recordings by his frequent identification of wives by their maiden names in the sixth ward of Albany City. This was in response to a feud with his supervisor. The census from this ward has been transcribed by Dr. David Paul Davenport, and was published in The Capital (Vol. 3, no. 2 {Second Quarter 1988}, 65-66), and in subsequent issues. Additionally, the 1925 Iowa State Census identifies the parents places of birth and the maiden name of the mother.

In the federal census 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920, the places of birth for the parents are listed. In addition, the 1900 census identifies the number of children given birth to by the wife, and the number living when the census was taken.

In the New York State 1855 census, one column lists the duration of residence in the place of enumeration for each member of a household. This helps pinpoint former places of abode; thus, moving her back on her time line.

Civil Death Certificates Informants commonly provide ages/dates of birth, and places for the deceased as well as the place of birth for her parents. Be sure to obtain death certificates for all her children. It may be the last certificate you secure that identifies the maiden name of the mother.

If your research carries you through America and across the ocean, you will want to add Thomas Jay Kemp's International Vital Record handbook to your collection. This reference contains the application forms needed for civil death, marriage and birth records for each American state, the Canadian provinces, and for sixty-seven countries and territories. Just photocopy and complete the forms, enclose payment and place in an addressed envelope. Before shipping, double check the names, dates, and places. If the date of death is unknown, narrow down the year of death to within a few years. This text was published by Genealogical Publishing Company, 1001 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 in 1990.

Marriage civil or ecclesiastical records are popular choices as they often provide twice as much information because two people are involved. Perhaps the husband and wife were from the same town; this may be noted. A search can be made to determine if both sets of parents resided in that community. Even if they do not, remember we still tend to marry someone who lives within thirty miles of where we live. Consider your own situation and that of other family members. Where did they live in relationship to their future mates?

Keep in mind the pre-Revolutionary practice of female based birth order marriages. This meant that the oldest daughter was required to marry prior to the marriage of her younger sisters. In one of my post-Revolutionary ancestral families, the family joke was that the youngest sister (and my ancestor) born in 1823 in Ontario was, "to ugly to get married." Perhaps this was a weak attempt at reinforcing the fading practice of adhering to birth order marriage, or was it a hint at family composition and real sibling rivalry? In a rivalrous turn of events, she became the first daughter to marry.

A word of caution: do not assume that a person had only one marriage, especially when the vital records are scanty or missing. Also, be sure that no two women of similar ages have the same names in the same area. Years of research can quickly become a pile of useless paper if incorrect assumptions are made.

Other early marriage records include:

• Bailey, Early Connecticut Marriages, 1651-1800, Vol 7, 1982 - includes 30,000 entries of Congregational and Episcopal marriages.
• Irish, Pennsylvania German Marriages, 1982 - includes marriages and baptisms for ninety-five Pennsylvania churches from 1710-1901.
• New York Marriages Prior to 1784, 1984 - includes 25,000 marriage licenses.

Check for witnesses or sponsors. God-parents are often related to the child.

Recheck Your Sources and Write Down All the Different Spellings of the Name and Then Add Others Be open-minded about how to spell names and places. Transpositions, phonemics, and poor handwriting may alter a name.

Other than vowels, some commonly interchanged letters are B & P, D & T, F & V, J & Y, and V & W. Some commonly confused upper case cursive letters include the following: O & D, I & J, J & T, I & T, L & S, H & K, and M & W.

Keep your eyes and ears open. A new twist on variant spellings includes this case. In the 1810 census of one town in Otsego County, New York, one researcher recently noticed there were no surnames beginning with the letter "K". The reason is simple: The cursive "K" used by one Otsego County census taker was writeen as follows:

When the surnames beginning with "K" were transcribed, the transcriber typed out each surname with the letter "S" before the "K". So to find your Otsego County female females with the surname beginning with a "K", look under the "K" and "S" portions of the 1810 census index.

Be Aware of Naming Practices and Patterns Among Ethnic Groups and Family Members Regional, cultural, and religious differences may account for name differences. For example, in North American, it is common for post-Revolutionary families to give the oldest son a middle name which was his mother's maiden name. But before assuming this fact, remember that sometimes the middle name had no connection with the family, but was the name of a prominent leader in the local or national community.

As the Irish clung to their land, so do the Irish and Dutch-born women in American keep their maiden names. A Dutch or Irish woman is commonly listed with her maiden name, not her married name, in newspaper obituaries and on tombstone inscriptions. This practice was very common in the second half of the nineteenth century, and early twentieth century America.

Iroquois Indian women have never taken their husband's name, nor did their children take his surname. Hers was the name of choice.

Across the ocean, other variations occur. Names may have been anglicized, as in Zimmermann (German), which becomes Carpenter, or Brehoney (Gaelic), which may be listed in the Northern Irish records as the English surname Judge. Check with someone who is fluent in the language, and knowledgeable about the history of the country of origin before identifying the possible spellings.

Certain given names and surname are indigenous to specific sections of a country. Some examples include Hebrew, English, Irish, and Dutch names. Bridget/Brigit is common in the Republic of Ireland. Surnames ending in in(c)k (as in Hilferink), ing, -hoff and -loo (as in VanDeLoo) are frequently found in Gelderland, Holland, as are the surnames Klein (small), and Groot (great). Two syllable names ending in -e, such as rogge and Rijke, are also common in this province.

The Morman Library produced a series of booklets on researching in Holland. One publication which provides tips on locating the Dutch provincial place of origin is: Genealogical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Origins of Names and Their Effects on Genealogical Research in the Netherlands, Series C, No. 28, 1975, rev. 1977, 3 (the Development of Given Names and the Female Versions of these names), and 14 (Surname Peculiarities in the Provinces - Gelderland).

Ethnic religious differences may also help determine the spelling of a name. The Catholics may spell the name McDonald whereas in the case of Protestants the name would be more commonly spelled McDoniel. The emigrant children of one Jewish couple may have different last names. One may use the mother's maiden name, one may be known by the name of the synagogue of origin, another may rearrange the letters of the surname (Levi could become Weil), or anglicize them (Ma'ir becomes Meyer), and another may derive her name from an acronym of the parents entire name. Rachel Shlomo BatIsaac, meaning Rachel daughter of Isaac, might become Rashi.

Suffixes are often added to feminize a name. The Dutch endings -tje, -je,, and -ke turn a male given name into a female name. One example is Garritje. A Slovak suffix which feminizes a surname is -ova. Prosbikova is one example. A Hebrew patronymic, meaning the daughter of, is the ending -ouna.

English and Welch, 1700-1870 - First daughter was named after the mother's mother; second daughter was named after the mother's father's mother; third daughter was named after the mother, fourth daughter was named after the mother's older sister; first son was named after the father's father; second son was named after the mother's father; third son was named after the father's eldest brother. Exceptions apply if there was a duplication of a given name, then practice would involve skipping to the next name on the list.

Scottish, 1700 to 1800 - first daughter was named for her maternal grandmother; second daughter was named for her paternal grandmother; third daughter was named after her mother; other daughters were named after other family members; first son was named after his paternal grandfather, second son was named after his maternal grandfather; third son was named after his father. This policy holds true unless one family member had more assets or a higher social standing than the other. By following the aforementioned naming practiceing, one unique aspect of Scottish naming was that if two grandmothers or two grandfathers had the same given name, two children in the same family would end up wtih the same name.

Early Dutch (similar to the Scottish practice listed above)- First daughter was named after her maternal grandmother; second daughter was named after her paternal grandmother; third daughter was named after her mother's eldest sister; first son wsa named after his paternal (or maternal) grandfather; second son was named after his maternal (or paternal) grandfather; third son was named after his father.

Old German - Each child was given first and middle names, and was called by his/her middle name. The first name of each daughter was usually the first name of the mother, and the first name of each son was commonly the first name of the father. The middle name of each child was the name of the baby's baptismal sponsor. This godparent may have been a relative, family friend, or the parent of the child. The Germans in the northwestern section of the country (including Friesland and adjacent areas) commonly followed the system listed for the Early dutch above. If a German immigrant married a Dutch immigrant, the Early dutch naming system was the more common naming method.

If a woman is listed with a place of birth as Marsberg, Saxony, one must determine what town spelled similarly to Marsberg was in the former duchy of Saxony. By checking the beginning pages on the Saxony fiche card (IGI at the Mormon Library), one will find an alphabetical listing of all the towns. From this list, one will find a Merseburg listed. In fact, the baptism record of Constance Wilhemina Louisa Woelffer, later known as Louisa Muller, states her date of birth as 6 October 1809, 6:00 P.M., fifth child of the third marriage. Her father is listed as Carl Hendrick Woelffer, evangelical merchant at sea, presently at Merseburg, and Johanna Margareta nee Ryke, presently of Merseburg. The baptism appears in the baptism register of the Evangelical Church Congregation Maxim at Merseburg, p. 66, no. 128.

NOTE: Another clue as to her origins includes her middle name, Louisa, which was to become the given name by which she was to be called. Louisa is a French name. Due to the influence of Napoleon, it was fashionable to give "German" children French names during the era of Napoleon. After his demise in 1814, the trend reverted back.

Check grantee (buyer), and grantor (seller) records. Determine when the woman or her husband first appear as owning land and then when the land is sold, often after the death of her or her husband. When a couple sold land in the nineteenth century, the woman is identified, not when the land is purchased. This is due to her right of dower. Statements at the end of the deed may include one indicating that of her own free will she agreed to have these lands sold. The last land sale may include a date of death. Once one has a date of death, a death certificate or obituary may be secured.

Check within the body and at the end of the deed for all the heirs who may be selling and signing off on their parents' land after their death. Daughters with their married last names and their husband's full names will frequently be listed.

Seek out key phrases such as: "et ex" and et al, in the deed index. "Et ex" is a Latin abbreviation for "et exor", meaning "and wife." "Et al" or "et alia" is a Latin phrase meaning "and others." Examining deeds with these designations may provide the names of females, their surnames after marriage, and places of residence.

If the woman or her husband is not found in the records, look for their children or grandchildren. Perhaps the land transaction for the woman in question ws not recorded, but the land may have been passed on to a daughter/granddaughter, and when that child sold the land she had to prove that the property was hers. The deed would often identify the original owner/her grandfather, his children/some grandchildren, and the children of any deceased children. Family relationships and deceased children as well as surnames of married females will be listed. three generations may be included in the deed.

Land tax records list women when they are the heads of household, hence, the taxpayer. If she was single, widowed, or the sole heir of her parent's estate, she would be listed on the tax rolls. Names on the early tax rolls are commonly listed in the respective order that houses appear on streets; listings are similar to the census, but with only a street, head of household, and tax listed. Track tax records each year until you find the female no longer listed. Check to determine if she died, was married, sold the property, or if a male now owns property of the same description. City directories may be beneficial here.

Canadian loyalist land petitions may reference the wife and names of the Loyalist who was her father. If Order in Council (O.C.) records include her name, this means she received her lands as the daughter of a Loyalist and that she was at least twenty-one years of age. Many Order in Council records for Ontario are easily located by examing William D. Reid, The Loyalist in Ontario, the Sons and Daughters of the American Loyalists of Upper Canada, (1973) 1983. The text includes names, children, and places of settlement.

Hessen (Germany) and Dutch officials required that if an idividual was leaving the area, that his or her name and details of the departure were to be recorded in the town or provincial records. Willem Helferink is listed as departing Ruurlo in September 1857. Garritdena is not listed; however, Willem's mother, Johanna Hilferink Oldenboom (age 62) is listed in July 1872. Mrs. Oldenboom settled wtih her husband in the village of Paris, Green Township, Mecosta County, Michigan. After the death of her husband in 1885, she moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to live with her children who had previously emigrated.

Wills, by nature, include the names of the offspring of a couple. In the will or the estate papers filed during probate, the surnames of the female children, and somtimes their husband's names will be listed.

Occasionally a man will include his mother's name in his will, if he expects to die young and without any children. Be sure to check letters of administration for those who died intestate (without a will).

If parents die young, the legal guardian (a male) is often a relataive. If the mother was still living, the court normally appointed a guardian, as the court operated in accordance with the premise that a woman was not able to tend matters by herself. The child's age will also be listed in guardianship records.

By Diane Snyder Ptak .

Part 2 of Elusive Women